Handheld power tools such as drills, bit drivers, nut drivers, socket drivers, nut runners, and/or other fastening tools, are often used to perform tasks relating to the application or removal of fasteners. In several industrial and residential contexts, the fastening tools may be used in a situation that places the operator of the fastening tool underneath the fastening tool and the fastener that is being applied or removed. In these situations, if the fastener should happen to fall, the fastener essentially becomes foreign object debris (FOD) that can potentially injure the operator or damage other equipment. Moreover, the fastener may become lost or damaged, thereby potentially increasing cost.
One way the problem of dealing with the potential for falling fasteners has been handled in the past has been for the operator to hold one hand near the fastener to be ready to catch the fastener if it falls. Not only is this method difficult to employ, but it is also a relatively unreliable method. However, even if the operator catches a falling fastener, the luck or skill associated with success then necessitates further operator activity as the fastener must be repositioned or separately placed in a container (e.g., a bag) while the operation is attempted again with the same or a different fastener. Accordingly, this particular method leads to the operator repeating unnecessary movements or reaching, bending or otherwise taking an unusual and/or tension inducing position and can generate and/or accelerate substantial muscle fatigue.
Accordingly, it may be desirable to provide a solution to the potential problem of falling fasteners that is both easy to use and effective both from a practicality standpoint and from a cost perspective.